Cheating on tests

Keep in mind that with any of these, good judgment and quick thinking are essential. Sometimes just asking your neighbor what the answer is will be the best solution. If you use any physical items that could be used as evidence, dispose of them immediately after you are through with them. The most important rule, however, is to look natural at all times. Act like you are allowed to cheat. The more you try to hide what you are doing, the more obvious it will be. While looking for the little things, most teachers will skip over the more obvious ones.

I’ve divided the methods up into three sections. The first section consists of the cheats that I consider to be the most effective. The consequent sections represent solid cheats and risky cheats, respectively. Use any of them at your own risk. I will not be held responsible for any disciplinary actions that result from the use of anything described in here (Although if you do it right, you won’t get caught. Trust me).

I

Writing on the desk – This would probably be your safest bet, and is the one I have used the most. The name is self-explanatory: write any answers you need on the desk before the test is handed out. Always use pencil, and try to write as lightly and illegibly as possible. If you’re at any normal school, the desk is already covered in graffiti and it shouldn’t stick out too much. The notes are much easier to hide if you draw them where you would normally rest your right elbow on the desk; when the teacher is passing the test out, lean casually on the notes. When done correctly the teacher has no reason to question your honesty at all. The biggest advantage of having it on your desk is that you will be looking straight down at your desk. A teacher should never be able to find any physical evidence either; pencil wipes off of desks very easily with a small amount of saliva and a thumb (and don’t forget to erase it immediately after you use it).

Shading your eyes – Place your hand across your eyebrows and look down so that your eyes are completely obstructed from your teacher’s view. In this position, you can look left and right without arousing any suspicion. By coincidence, the way your hands are placed on your head makes it look like you are in deep thought, and not cheating. Most of the time the student that you are cheating from won’t be able to tell either. Also, although this may be obvious for some, try not to take their answers letter for letter. More teachers will spot the fact that you had the same exact answers as the person next to you than you would think. It goes without saying that you should use good judgment here.

Hide a small piece of paper with notes between the calculator and its cover. When the test begins and you remove the cover, the answers are right there. Easy as pie.

In most high school calculators, you can program words into it. I’m no expert at this one, so let me direct you here.

On the hand – Writing on your palm is probably the most well known way to cheat. Although it may sound risky, I have found that the fact is that its so obvious most teachers don’t even think to check. Put your hands in your pockets while the test is being handed out or place them face-down on the desk. Try to write as illegibly as you can before you can’t read it; you can sometimes pass it off as an assignment you wrote down for another class if you are caught but a teacher can not read the writing. The advantage of the hand is that it takes only about 5 seconds to dispose of the evidence in a discreet way. If you get the feeling that a teacher is watching you, make sure you erase it before they come over to check.

A variation on this is to write the answers between your fingers. Although I’ve never tried it, the writing is probably much easier to hide, and you could probably even get away with it if a teacher asks you to show them your palm.

On the pencil – Every student needs a pencil while taking a test. Before attempting this, make sure you have two pencils. On one, write down the answers on the side. At first, keep the magic pencil in your pocket and present your perfectly clean one. When you need some help, just use the stashed pencil. Along with writing on the desk, this method is pretty failsafe. The only problem is that there is only so much you can write on the side of a pencil…

Uniform – For girls this requires a skirt, and for guys a tie (this is the least obvious in private schools with uniforms). Tape a piece of paper on the inside of your skirt. Fortunately, most teachers don’t check up peoples skirts. The best part of this is that if a male teacher catches you, it is sexual harassment! With a tie, slip the paper inside the tie; it’s almost impossible to find it there. You may have to cut some threads in order to clear the way, but once the tie is hollow it’s a perfect spot.

II

Shoes – The bottoms of your shoes are probably the best hiding place for secret information. However, it is fairly obvious when a student is looking at the bottom of their shoes in the middle of a test. If you can, sit cross-legged in the desk (most girls can do this, I can’t) and you won’t have to strain to find what you wrote. This works best, obviously, if you sit cross-legged during the normal classes, so it does not look too obvious.

Secret messages – This one requires two partners in crime. You are going to send signals through tapping your pencil on the desk. First work out a code: 1 tap equals A, 2 equals B, etc. This one is completely foolproof, except for the fact that if neither of you knows the answers you are both screwed. If the two of you know morse code, this could be even cooler.

Notes during the test – If you have a little shelf for your books under your desk, place your notebook open to the page that you would most likely need there. This also works with the notebook on the floor beside you. This one is pretty risky, but I’ve seen it work. Also, there have been at least two times that a student was caught doing this and they were able to get away with it. Any good actor can convince the teacher that they did not know the notebook was open.

Pencil Sharpener – “Accidentally” break your only pencil. On the way back (not the way there, the teacher will most likely still be looking at you) you could probably get a good five answers from other people’s papers.

Sitting on the paper – Yes, if your caboose is large enough, you will completely cover any paper that you may be sitting on. The smaller the paper is, the better, but large pieces of paper are also hid fairly well. During the test, spread your legs to get a glimpse of what is on the paper. Don’t do this for too long or else a teacher may think you have some kind of urinary problem and tell you to go to the bathroom. As with any method, try to be as quick but natural as possible.

Brim of the Hat - If you can wear a hat during the test (my school does not allow hats in the classroom), than the brim is a perfect hiding place for cheats. You can either write it directly on the underside of the brim, although this may ruin the hat, or tape a piece of paper up there. It shouldn't be too obvious if you remove your hat to scratch your head while you are in thinking. Downsides are that it is hard to cover up if a teacher suspects you. Other than that, this way is pretty safe. - tetrisboy

III

Bottles – This one is fairly difficult, but is one of the most fun to pull off successfully. First of all, you must be allowed to have a drink with you during the test. At home, scan the white box where the ingredients are on the label. Remove the text that is there and you will find a big white area in which to type anything you might need to know for the test. Try to pick an inconspicuous font; this may take a bit of trial and error. If you rub off the ingredients, you could also print it directly on to the label.

Another, less time-consuming, way is to remove the label the night before and write in everything that you need to know on the back. Place the label back, and you will be able to read it easily from the outside without it being too obvious.

Bathroom – Some teachers won’t let you go to the bathroom while you take a test. Many, however, don’t care. If you are fortunate enough to have the latter, stash your notebook in the bathroom and make sure to remember the questions you didn’t know.

Breaking Scantrons– This one I’ve only heard of, but I’ve never seen it in action. Any non-greasy lip balm will make it so that the scantron machine cannot read the answers. The machine will supposedly eat the paper (I’m not too sure about this), letting you retake the test at a later date. If the test survives unscathed, however, the teachers could easily grade it themselves. Try at your own risk.

Wrappers – If you are allowed to have gum or any other type of candy, you could easily unwrap it beforehand and write the answers on the inside. Most public schools allow this. After you are done, make sure to rip it up. It would also be smart to dispose of it in another classroom, or an outside trash can. Never leave the evidence on the scene.

Watches - Just another place to hide a piece of paper. Fold the paper so its long and thin and you can place it around the watch's band.